Path to Light
by Esdesesama
Summary: Shiba Tatsuya finds himself in a crucial situation. With a marriage partner picked out for him by his aunt, will he learn to be able to love others and to feel again, or will he always be stuck by Miyuki's side?
1. Chapter 1

**This story starts at about the beginning of the Tatsuya and Miyuki's third year at First High. First story. Read and review please! Criticism is accepted but no flames!**

Birds chirped in the sakura trees outside of the Yotsuba family's main house.

Yotsuba Maya was contemplating what to do about the oncoming Ten Master Clans Selection Meeting.

There was no doubt that the Yotsuba would be voted again into the Ten Master Clans. It was more about the fact that this time, she would have to announce the heir of the Yotsuba House.

She sighed.

Maya had a niece and a nephew attending their third year at First High School.

Shiba Miyuki and Shiba Tatsuya. They were her deceased sister's children who lived on their own now.

Born eleven months apart, Tatsuya was older than his little sister and dearly loved her. In fact, Miyuki was the only one Tatsuya felt any feelings for. Maya felt wary about Tatsuya. His only loyalty was to Miyuki and his power rivaled her own.

She bet that he could overpower and kill her in a duel right now. Yes, she needed to keep a sharp eye over him. To do that she would have to make sure that Miyuki was loyal to the Yotsuba at all times – meaning that Maya needed to reveal Miyuki as the heir to the head of the Yotsuba House.

But if the other houses didn't support her, she needed allies. One thought came into mind. The Yatsushiro. It was the only other clan with a female clan head, not that Maya was a feminist. She already had a good relationship with Yatsushiro Yume, the clan head.

The Yatsushiro were from the Eight Institute, which specialized in the Four Fundamental Interactions: the gravitational, electromagnetic, weak nuclear, and strong nuclear force. Yume specialized in gravitational and electromagnetic magic, meaning that she was also very powerful.

But that wasn't what Maya was focused on. She was more focused on the fact that she knew Yume had a daughter. She heard her talking about her daughter from time to time, bragging about how powerful she was. If Maya remembered correctly, her daughter specialized in the strong nuclear force, meaning that her magic allowed her to tear apart an atom's nucleus, literally producing nuclear power.

Yes, that daughter of Yume's would provide a great marriage alliance to Tatsuya. The Yatsushiro would provide great allies to the Yotsuba in case of that Saegusa Koichi not approving of Maya's heir.

She chuckled softly to herself.

"Hayama," she called her butler, "tell Miyuki-chan and Tatsuya-kun to come over to visit this weekend. I have some important news."


	2. Chapter 2

**xorion1997: Thanks! I'll try to make the chapters longer. I hope this one's long enough.**

**ferduran: I hope that this chapter will answer your question.**

** : Thank you for the advice! I tried to make this one more descriptive.**

"Yes Hayama," Miyuki replied. "Onii-sama and I will surely visit Oba-sama this weekend."

Miyuki sighed and hung up.

What did Oba-sama want this time? She knew that the selection meeting was coming up and Oba-sama had to announce her heir, which was she herself, Shiba Miyuki. Maybe she was going to come up with a plan of presenting her to the other clans.

Oh, well, Miyuki thought, time to tell Onii-sama.

As usual, Miyuki found him in the basement making renovations for a new CAD he designed.

"Um, Onii-sama," she stuttered while blushing.

"Yes, Miyuki," answered Tatsuya, still typing away on his calibration device.

"Oba-sama requested us to go visit her this weekend. She says she has important information she wants to discuss with us." Tatsuya suddenly stopped typing.

"Well, then we'll make arrangements. Miyuki, will you help me pack?"

"Yes, of course, Onii-sama!" squealed Miyuki. Onii-sama was actually asking for her help! Of course she would cater to his every need.

Then she ran out of the room before Tatsuya got to thank her. Instead he chuckled. "Oh, Miyuki," he said.

* * *

Saturday soon arrived and Tatsuya and Miyuki found themselves in front of the Yotsuba main house.

It was spring and Tatsuya was wearing a black button-down shirt and formal but flexible (allowing free movement) pants that let him fulfill his duties as a guardian. Miyuki was wearing a sundress, with a wide-brimmed hat. To any passerby, they looked like any other brother-sister pair.

Then the door to the main house opened with Hayama greeting them.

"Welcome back," he cheerfully said while leading them through a series of hallways to the main meeting room. "It's been no fun without you kids here."

Tatsuya cracked a small smile.

Hayama finally led them to the main meeting room. In the middle of the room sat the head of the Yotsuba, Yotsuba Maya.

As always, she looked breathtaking. With a generous body and long flowing hair, she looked like a death goddess in her purple dress. Tatsuya and Miyuki both began to feel cautious in the presence of their aunt.

"It's wonderful to see my cute little niece and nephew again," Maya greeted them. "Oh, look at how much you've grown!"

"What do you want?" Tatsuya asked suspiciously.

Maya giggled. "Oh just like your mother. Always cutting straight to the point. What do I want, you ask? I just have a little surprise for you two. Follow me."

Miyuki hid behind Tatsuya, and they cautiously followed Maya to another room, where they could make out the silhouettes of two figures behind a room with curtains. As they approached closer, Tatsuya and Miyuki could make out the shapes of two women.

"I'd like to introduce you to one of my friends and her daughter. I invited them here to meet with you today," Maya said.

Then she pushed the curtains aside. There sat two women, one older, about Maya's age, and one younger, looking like a high school student, about the same age as Tatsuya and Miyuki.

The older woman looked sophisticated and beautiful, though she couldn't rival Maya. She held herself with an air of authority.

The younger woman was breathtaking with beauty that could put her on par with Miyuki. She wore a traditional Japanese dress, but cut much lower, about thigh height, and that had long flowing sleeves. Her hair was smooth and silky, and had a white flower tied into it. As soon as she saw Tatsuya she smiled a smile that could make the sun cry and said,"Hello. I am Yatsushiro Sayo. Pleased to meet you."

The other woman, the brother and sister pair assumed that it was Sayo's mother, said, "I never knew you had children Maya."

"I don't. They are my sister's."

"I see. And I presume that the young man will be Sayo's fiancé?"

At that, the room temperature suddenly plummeted. Even Tatsuya had a shocked face for a split second. But only for a split second. You could've only noticed it if you paid attention extremely closely.

But the real problem at the time was Miyuki. Her Outer Interference Magic was so strong, that there was no doubt that Miyuki was the one using such powerful magic. Yume and Sayo got a taste of her magic firsthand.

"Well I see that the young man's sister has good magical ability. What about the young man himself, Maya?"

"He possesses two innate magics that do not let him wield other magics freely. He is a BS magician-"

"Do you really believe I would marry my daughter to such an abomination then?! He probably doesn't even have enough psions to create another generation of powerful magicians for the Yatsushiro family! How dare you invite Sayo and I here to meet such a thing!"

That was the last straw for Miyuki. "How dare you insult Onii-sama! He wields magic only suited for gods. What do you know of his magic? Do you know that his Decomposition can break down tany design or structure? For information bodies, such as magic spells, he can directly disassemble the design. For physical objects, he can break them down into their constituent molecules, or even further into pure energy. If used on a person, the parts that form the human body, including skin, flesh, nerves, body fluids, bones, and cellular structures would be decomposed at a molecular level. Furthermore, with no retaliation, Onii-sama is capable of decomposing 36 targets simultaneously, but under constant fire his upper limit for mass targeting is 24. His other innate magic is Regrowth. He can read the structural information of any object and restore it up to 24 hours in the past. It emits no detectable psions and activates and finishes so quickly beyond the speed of human cognition. He is a Strategic-Class Magician! Now do you still dare insult Onii-sama?"

Miyuki's rant left Yume and Sayo astounded. They had never heard of any magician so powerful. Sayo could also be considered a Strategic-Class since she possessed the ability to break apart the nucleus of atoms, but Tatsuya's Regrowth magic was unheard of. Yume felt sorry that she so sharply scoffed at Tatsuya. Her head was buried in unimaginable shame at her underestimation of Maya's nephew.

"So now you know my nephew's true abilities. Thank you Miyuki-chan."

No reply from Miyuki, she was still fuming. If that was the correct word. The room was still ice-cold.

Sayo spoke up. "I am truly sorry for my mother's behavior. I beg that you will forgive her. She has the habit of speaking before she thinks. Please forgive us." She then hung her head in shame.

"It's fine. I get that a lot. I accept your apology." Sayo looked up. Into those ice blue eyes of that silent boy, her fiancé, whom her mother just offended so deeply. But those eyes showed no emotion. He looked like a god though, just as his sister had called him. He had that windswept hair and muscular but lithe body that most boys would envy. From what his sister just said, Sayo thought he might be a god of destruction.

"Thank you," whispered Sayo.

"Anyways Sayo, Tatsuya and Miyuki go to First High School," Maya cut in. "I believe that you don't go to a normal school do you?"

"No. My mother actually trains and teaches me herself because she feels that I wouldn't fit in at school. I am very advanced at Magic Engineering, Magic Theory, and practical magic in general."

"Well then Sayo, what do you think about going there with Tatsuya and Miyuki? You're going to be living with them as well. It is proper that you should get familiar with your fiancé right?"


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks for the reviews everyone! I got a lot of feedback and constructive criticism.**

* * *

Sayo didn't move in with them immediately. She had to go back to the Yatsushiro house to pack and be prepared.

On the plane ride home, Miyuki sat with Tatsuya in the economic class section. It was a miracle that she didn't freeze the plane. In fact, it only landed half and hour late.

As soon as they got back to their house, Tatsuya asked Miyuki what was wrong. Miyuki led Tatsuya to the laboratory where she locked the door and said, "Oh nothing Onii-sama. It's just that…"

"Hm?"

"I can't believe that she's going to let that bitch come and live here with us! Did you see how short that dress of hers was? What really bothers me is how Obaa-sama did not contact us about this situation! Onii-sama, I can't stand how another girl will live in this same house with us! Minami only has permission because she's my guardian, but that bitch! Onii-sama, how can you be okay with this? I want you to myself and only myself. I'm not afraid to say this aloud, Onii-sama, but I am a jealous woman. I cannot imagine the idea of sharing Onii-sama with another woman. Please, Onii-sama, reject the engagement and live with me and only me!" As soon as Miyuki finished ranting, she broke down to the floor crying.

Tatsuya sighed. "Miyuki, you know it's our duty as magicians to produce heirs to keep our lineage. One day you might be engaged too. But know that it's natural for magicians to get married early and –"

"I don't care Onii-sama! I will never get married because I just want to be with you. I will just be like Oba-sama and be a maiden for the rest of my life!"

At the end of that, Tatsuya kneeled down beside Miyuki and hugged her, with his head on her shoulder. Miyuki was sobbing, and Tatsuya wanted to comfort her so bad. "Miyuki, it's alright. Just remember, I'll always be there for only you. You know I am uncapable of feeling anything towards anyone but you. No matter how hard Sayo may try, I will always love only you, Miyuki."

With that, Miyuki's sobbing calmed down, and she smiled. "Can you sleep with me tonight?"asked Miyuki.

"Yes." Tatsuya then proceeded to carry Miyuki up to her room, signaling to Minami to go to sleep. Once he got to her room, he carefully laid Miyuki on her bed and climbed in with her.

When he made sure that Miyuki was asleep, he thought about what he had just said to her. Could he really keep that promise? That girl, Sayo, seemed different than others.

Was it because she seemed as powerful as he did? Or was it just because he had never met another girl with beauty as astounding as Miyuki's?

As he was thinking about these questions, Tatsuya gradually fell asleep.

* * *

A week had almost passed and Tatsuya and Minami had gone to the train station to pickup Sayo. Miyuki "politely" declined to go.

When Sayo's train arrived and she got off, she looked as off as ever.

She was wearing a different dress/kimono today, but still with the same shortness and the long sleeves. It stood out against the crowd of contemporarily dressed businessmen and women, and teenagers with way too many piercings. Nevertheless, she still looked beautiful.

"May I take your suitcases?" asked Tatsuya.

"Oh, sure. Thank you! And would you mind introducing me to the other young woman?"

"Her name is Minami. She is Miyuki's guardian and our personal cook."

"Hello Minami-chan. Nice to meet you!"

"Hello Sayo-sama. Pleased to serve you."

"No need for the formal attitude. I'm not used to servants. I think we should all get together."

Tatsuya was rather surprised at Sayo's cheerful attitude. Already witnessing the personality of her mother, he was surprised that Sayo was almost the exact opposite. Tatsuya was even more surprised when Sayo looped her arm with his.

"Let's be off!" Sayo happily said, while dragging Tatsuya along. "I want to see how you live in such a big city!"

Tatsuya was not too sure that Miyuki would approve of his position, but it would be impolite to tell Sayo to move. Oh well, he thought, we should get back first.

On the car ride back with Minami driving, Sayo continually questioned Tatsuya. His answers were always terse, usually just, "You'll see."

Sayo also told him about her childhood. Really, Tatsuya "felt" a tiny bit of sympathy for her. If the "felt" was the smallest feeling in the world.

She told him about how other children didn't like to play with her, how her mother took her out of school, how she grew up in almost solitude. Tatsuya was nodding off in almost boredom until she started asking him about his knowledge in Magic Theory and Magic Engineering.

"Can you calibrate CADS? Do you have your own laboratory? What do you think of the Cardinal Codes?" Sayo asked.

"We have a lab at our house. I don't think the Cardinal Codes can be used to recreate all kinds of magic. Cardinal George is just a show-off in my opinion. He seems to know actually nothing about magic engineering and theory. And yes. Of course. I calibrate CADS."

"I know that the Yotsuba secretly sponsor FLT. Do you know Taurus Silver?"

"Actually, I am Taurus Silver."

"No way! Then you're the one who invented the Loop Cast System and Flying-Type Magic?"

"Yes. Surprising isn't it? That he's a student."

"Do you mind if you take me to FLT and show me your lab? That would be one of the best things that have ever happened to me!"

Sayo had her arm hooked with his the whole time.

As soon as Minami pulled into the driveway, Sayo bounced out, still grabbing Tatsuya. Minami had her luggage.

When Tatsuya opened the door, he saw Miyuki sitting on the couch, drinking coffee. Her eyes widened with joy when he saw her and she leapt of the couch exclaiming, "Onii-sama-"

Then she saw Sayo standing right next to Tatsuya with her arm looped with his and smiling happily. And she froze.

"So is this your imouto-chan, Tatsuya? She is so cute. I bet you have to fend off all the boys."

Miyuki froze. And not just her body, but the whole room. It was so cold that Tatsuya had trouble trying to respond to Sayo and to calm Miyuki down.

"Yes. I am his imouto, Sayo." Miyuki's reply was short and haughty.

"Nice to meet you then. I am Sayo, your soon to be sister."

"You'll never be a sister to me. I am ashamed that trash like you associates with my onii-"

"Miyuki. That's enough."

Miyuki stopped talking. She suddenly burst into tears and ran up the stairs to her room.

"Minami, you may now retire to your room. Prepare Sayo's room for her. And make sure that everything is ready for school tomorrow. It is the first day, so we should make a good impression."

Then Tatsuya turned to Sayo and bowed. "I am extremely sorry for my sister's impolite words. I will have a talk with her later. For now, I remember I promised to take you to see my laboratory. Shall we?" Tatsuya held out his hand.

"Yes, we shall." Sayo giggled, and Tatsuya led her down to the lab.

As soon as he opened the door, Sayo gasped in shock. "I never imagined that this house contained such a place. As expected of the Yotsuba. Do you test your inventions here?"

"Of course. With Miyuki." After that, Sayo got quiet. "Come. I'll give you a tour."

Tatsuya led Sayo around the lab. He let Sayo test out every part of the lab. Sayo was smiling the whole time, always glancing up at Tatsuya.

Finally after Tatsuya let her explore every inch of the lab, he said, "It's time to retire now. It is getting late and tomorrow is your first day of school."

"Ah, yes! I'm so excited. I hope you can lead me around."

"I will."

With that he led Sayo up to her guestroom, which Minami had just finished preparing for her.

"Goodnight," Sayo said.

"Goodnight," replied Tatsuya. Maybe living with Sayo won't be that bad, he thought as he walked towards Miyuki's room to talk with her.

When he approached Miyuki's door, he knocked.

"Miyuki? May I come in?"

Tatsuya heard a muffled "yes", so he went inside and locked the door behind him.

He found Miyuki with puffy eyes crying on her bed. "Miyuki, are you all right?"

"Why'd you have to bring **her** home? She has no right to be in this household."

"Miyuki, we went over this."

"But I hate her! She's just trying to steal me away from you. I saw how she looked at you when you two first walked in. She looked up to you like you're a god. The way _I_ look at you. That's just not right!"

"Miyuki. We went over how this is my duty as a magician. I hope you will accept her. You two will be sisters someday, like she so accurately pointed out. I expect you to apologize to her first thing tomorrow. She will be your sister and she is older than you."

"But-"

"I am your aniki. I expect you to listen and make your useless Onii-sama proud of at least one thing: making his cute little sister into a polite woman."

"Yes, Onii-sama! I will gladly do anything that will make you proud of me! I am also sorry for causing you such trouble."

Tatsuya walked over to Miyuki and patted her head.

"I am so lucky to have such a cute and polite little sister." Miyuki blushed and looked away.

"It is getting late. You should go to bed now, Miyuki. It's getting late, and you are the new student council president. Good night, Miyuki."

"Goodnight, Onii-sama!" Then Tatsuya kissed the top of her head and left. That night Miyuki dreamed of Tatsuya dancing with her in a garden in a world where Sayo and Oba-sama didn't exist.

Tatsuya also proceeded to sleep that night.

* * *

The next morning when they all got up, Minami had already made breakfast, scrambled eggs and bacon with green tea.

Miyuki, Minami, and Sayo were dressed in their uniforms, third-year uniforms. Sayo had hair like she always did. Down, parted in the middle, and with a beautiful white flower delicately put in it.

While they were eating, Miyuki apologized to Sayo. "I am sorry for being so rude yesterday. I hope we can get along from here on."

Sayo laughed and said, "It's no problem. I also hope we can get along now."

Tatsuya smiled at Miyuki, ever so faintly.

As they were walking to First High together, Sayo and Miyuki actually talked.

Miyuki told her about Tatsuya's lessons with Kokonoe Yakumo, reminded her not to tell anyone about her and Tatsuya's identity ("It's a secret. I promise," said Sayo), and their friends at First High.

"There's Erika, who has this personality that everyone just loves. She's quick to judge, but she has a good sense of humour. You'll love her. Then there's Leo, who's always arguing with Erika, probably something like who's physical abilities are better. Mizuki and Mikihiko are the quiet ones. Mizuki is very sensitive to psion and pushion activities, which is why she always wears glasses. Mikihiko specializes in Spiritual Magic. Those two are like a couple, too. They complement each other perfectly. Mizuki and Mikihiko are in Onii-sama's class, Class 3-E Engineering. Erika and Leo are in Class 3-F though. As for me, you're in my class 3-A with Honoka and Shizuku. They're best friends and you can never find them by themselves. They're quiet but nice. I think you'll get along fine with all of them."

When Sayo heard that, she was comforted.

Soon they approached the school gates.

"Yo, Tatsuya, Miyuki, Minami, hello! Haven't seen you guys in a while!" exclaimed a voice that was undoubtedly Erika.

"Wait for me! Hey guys!" ran Leo behind her. Mizuki and Mikihiko were waving behind them too.

"Hey. Who's she?" asked Erica, pointing a finger at Sayo.

"Erika-chan, it's not polite to point at someone," chastised Mizuki.

"Aw, I'm just asking."

Minami spoke up, "This is Tatsuya-nii-sama's fiancée, Yatsushiro Sayo."

Everything was silent for a moment. "Wait, WHAT?!" screamed everyone.

"A member of Ten Master Clans, no less." Mikihiko almost fainted.

In fact everyone almost fainted.

"What was that? We heard everyone screaming." Honoka and Shizuku came around the corner. "Is everyone alright?"

Erika finally regained her composure after she stumbled back into a bush. "Tatsuya has a fiancée," she proclaimed.

Honoka's face was twisted into many different shapes in the course of a few seconds. Shizuku had to catch her before she fell on the ground. Everyone knew that Honoka had the biggest crush on Tatsuya, so her reaction was the best.

"Y-y-you Tatsuya-san's f-fi-fi-fiancée?" she croaked out.

Sayo had a confused look on her face. "Yes. My name is Yatsushiro Sayo. Pleased to meet you…?"

At the name of a Ten Master Clans member, Honoka turned around and started puking.

"Um, is she going to okay?" asked Sayo.

"No worries. Shizuku will help her get over it," Erika said and winked at her. "We haven't even properly introduced ourselves to you either. Hi. I'm Chiba Erika. Nice to meet you."

"Saijou Leonhart. But you can call me Leo. Nice to meet you."

"Shibata Mizuki. I hope to get along with you."

"Yoshida Mikihiko. Nice to meet you."

"Kitayama Shizuku. And this is my friend Mitsui Honoka. We're pleased to meet you. I'm sorry for the inconveniences of my friend. Please forgive us."

"You're forgiven. I'm glad that you have such nice friends, Tatsuya-kun, Miyuki."

"Oneee-sannn!" someone called.

"Oh no," groaned everyone.

Soon a girl with a bob cut came running out of nowhere and started hugging Miyuki. Another girl appeared behind her that had a tomboyish haircut and appeared to be the other girl's twin.

"Izumi, you're so annoying. Stop obsessing over the pervert's sister. You can do that later during student council or something. We're right in front of the school where everyone can see us," snapped the second twin. Indeed, many bystanders were looking at the commotion.

"All right, all right," complained Izumi. "Really, you're no fun Kasumi. And Onee-san is a very smart and nice person. You should show her more respect."

"I'll show her more respect when that skirt-chaser brother of hers leaves Mayumi-nee-san alone."

Izumi pouted some more and soon noticed Sayo.

"Say, you look familiar, but I just can't put my finger on it. Kasumi, do we know her?" Izumi gestured at Sayo.

"Hey, we actually have seen you before somewhere. Are you part of the Ten Master Clans?"

Sayo replied, "Yes. I am. My name is Yatsushiro Sayo."

Kasumi and Izumi's eyes widened. "No way. You're that one girl that Mayumi-nee-san hates," said Izumi.

"She always talks about how good you are at Magic Engineering, Magic Theory, and practical magic. She keeps going on that she's always being surpassed by you in everything. Not to mention that you're younger than her too. She hates you," breathed Kasumi.

"So why are you here?" asked Izumi suspiciously.

"I am Tatsuya-kun's fiancée."

"WAIT WHAT?!"

It was the third time that day that people fainted at that exact phrase.


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry for the wait guys. Way too much HW. Thanks for all the reviews minna!**

It was an interesting first day. Rumours spread like wildfire and soon everyone was staring at Tatsuya and Sayo.

"Hey, isn't she from the Ten Master Clans?"

"Then why is she hanging out with that Weed?"

"Well, he did beat Ichijou Masaki in his first year during Monolith Code. And I heard that he got his Thesis Competition subject published."

"Not to mention that he discovered the secret to Flying Type Magic."

They heard these whispers following them everywhere around school. Erika and Leo did their best to give the gossipers their best death stares, but even that was not enough.

During lunch, Erika couldn't hold it in any longer. "Seriously, I am going to smash all these disrespectful bitch's fa-"

"Erika, calm down. Onii-sama doesn't mind, so I'm sure he doesn't want you being bothered by them either. Just leave them be." Miyuki cut off Erika.

"Fine," sighed Erika.

That concluded the end of their lunch. The rest of the day passed by fairly quickly, and when it came time to leave, Izumi and Kasumi didn't even come to say goodbye to Miyuki.

Instead, they were whispering and gossiping with the rest of the school, not daring to meet Sayo or Miyuki's glances in their direction.

When it came time for them to go home, everyone except for the Shiba siblings, Minami, and Sayo went to the train station.

"Where you going?" asked Erika.

"We will be eating out tonight with Tatsuya-nii-sama's father as a welcoming ceremony for Sayo," replied Minami, which was partially correct.

They were actually going to FLT, since Sayo wanted to visit, but Maya had also required them to go for a "friendly" visit with Shiba Tatsurou and his new wife, Sayuri.

"Well then see you guys tomorrow!" said Erika.

* * *

"Don't you guys think something's up with this?" asked Erika. "I mean Tatsuya getting engaged with someone from the Ten Master Clans? I always thought he was associated with the Yotsuba, and Naotsugu-nii-san knows that he is a soldier of the 101 Magic-Equipped Battalion. This just confirms my suspicion."

"He seems to be familiar with the Kuroba twins from Fourth High. I heard that they're part of the Yotsuba," added Mikihiko.

"Everyone, just please don't tell Tatsuya and Miyuki this, for all they did for us. If it weren't for them, we would be dead," pleaded Mizuki.

"She's right. Let's just keep this to ourselves and worry about this later. Let them reveal themselves to us on our own terms. Repeating Mizuki, they did do a lot to help us," concluded Leo.

After the conversation, they all walked home silently together.

* * *

When the Saegusa family servant opened the door for Kasumi and Izumi, they immediately ran inside looking for Mayumi.

"Mayumi-nee-san! Mayumi-nee-san!" they hollered while running to her room.

"What is it that you two want right now?" Mayumi opened the door for the twins.

"Mayumi-nee-san, Yatsushiro … Sayo is a … student at First … High-"

"Impossible. That **girl**! Going to school?! Why the hell is she going there?!" Mayumi cut off both of her sisters and was in rare panic state.

"She's… engaged… to Shiba … Tatsuya." Panted Izumi and Kasumi.

"She's what?!"

"She's engaged to the pervert," replied Kasumi, finally catching her breath.

Mayumi wanted to burn the whole house down. She couldn't take it anymore. That girl again! Always stealing her spotlight and surpassing her! How dare she! And now, she was **engaged** to Tatsuya! The one that she flirted with all the time! He never even noticed. It was so fun to see Miyuki freeze the whole room when she teased Tatsuya. But now that bitch Sayo was engaged to him. She wished she could use her Hale Particles to track down that Sayo and kill her.

"Kasumi, Izumi. I will be going to First High tomorrow. Be prepared," Mayumi declared. Her red eyes looked like the deepest shade of hellfire, wanting to raze everything in front of her.

Kasumi and Izumi squeaked a barely audible "yes" out and ran out of Mayumi's room as fast as they could, having never seen their sister like this before.

* * *

Meanwhile, Tatsuya, Miyuki, and Sayo arrived at FLT. They had sent Minami home to organize the house and prepare breakfast for the next morning.

As soon as they got inside, many people began screaming," Young Master! Young Master!"

"Everyone! Calm down and back to work or else I'll make sure you're out of here by tomorrow. I'll greet him," came a voice from the back.

A tall man with an Afro walked out smiling and shook Tatsuya's hand. "It's good to see you Mr. Silver."

"That's my line, Mr. Taurus. Sayo, this is Ushiyama, head director of the Third Division of FLT. He develops the hardware for all our breakthroughs, hence he is known as Tarus. I develop the software, so I am Silver."

"You forgot to introduce me to this young lady, Young Master."

"Oh, sorry. Ushiyama, this is Yatsushiro Sayo, my fiancée."

Ushiyama immediately bowed. "No one less for my Young Master. I have heard that you developed your own CAD, specifically for the purpose of your special magic, Disperse. If I'm not mistaken, you can weaken the strong force in an atom, thereby causing a nuclear reaction. Worthy of the Yatsushiro family. I've heard about your mother too. She can control the gravity in a particular space, causing her enemies great pain. But still, you're technically a Strategic-Class Magician. Like I said before, no one less for my Young Master."

Sayo blushed. "It's nothing really. I've heard how Tatsuya-kun used Material Burst during the Scorched Halloween two times and sank one of their escaping ships and annihilated another one before it even left the Zhenhai Harbor, killing the GAA's only Strategic-Class Magician. I'm nothing compared to my fiancé."

"Don't flatter me, Sayo. Ushiyama, would you mind giving Sayo a tour of FLT? She also specializes in Magic Theory and Magic Engineering, if you haven't heard."

"Yes, sir," replied Ushiyama as he jumped back onto his feet. "Let's go, Sayo."

While Sayo was on the tour chatting with Ushiyama about multiple Magic Engineering subjects, Miyuki was worried about meeting with her father and step-mother.

"Onii-sama, how are we going to deal with those two? That woman hates me and you even more. You know the only reason she puts up with you and I is because without Taurus Silver, FLT would be rolling down the mountain. What are we going to do tonight, Onii-sama?" whimpered Miyuki.

"Miyuki, just leave it to me. I'll always protect you from anyone, even if it's our father and stepmother. It's my duty as your Onii-sama." Tatsuya gave Miyuki a smile that he rarely ever showed to anyone.

"Onii-sama!" exclaimed Miyuki, blushing. She ran into Tatsuya's arms and hugged him tightly.

Little did they know that Sayo was watching them with a suspicious look.

After Sayo's tour was over, Tatsuya drove them to their father's house. He didn't even knock. He just swung the door open for the three of them, and they all walked inside.

"Aw, if it isn't Tatsuya-kun and Miyuki-chan. And of course Tatsuya-kun's cute fiancée," came the sarcastic, sickly sweet voice of Shiba Sayuri, the twins' stepmother.

"Miyuki. Tatsuya. Sayo," nodded Shiba Tatsurou. He was stoic, mostly because he didn't want to do anything to anger the Yotsuba main house, especially with the future heir present.

"So, how's school?" asked Tatsurou as they sat down at the dinner table.

"Hm," came Tatsuya's short reply. Tatsurou didn't dig any deeper.

"Do you mind introducing us to your lady, Tatsuya-kun?" Sayuri's voice dripped with detest.

"Yatsushiro Sayo." Tatsuya was the only one talking. Sayo was too scared to say anything.

"So that's the girl that your aunt hooked you up with? Uhhh, magicians. You know how your grandfather stole your father from me and made him have you two with that useless mother of yours? Magicians, always worried about their-"

Miyuki slammed her chopsticks down on the table and the temperature froze. There was no way that she would listen to that woman insult her mother.

"Shut up, okay? Just shut up. She was a better person than you will ever be. She did greater things than you will ever do. All you do is hide behind Onii-sama and use him as a tool to bring in money for FLT. If you didn't have him, I bet you would be bankrupt by now."

"Miyuki. That's enough," said her father.

"I don't want to hear you say anything either, Father," Miyuki spat out. "Less than half a year after our mother's death and you married _**her**_. Leaving your children to sulk alone while you fancied up your new wife. You have no right to tell me to be quiet. Only Onii-sama has the right to do that. Don't even make me bring Onii-sama up. You know you abused him as a child as a defective magician, when you know you're worse as a magician than Onii-sama is."

"Miyuki. Calm down. You don't have to defend me."

"It's not alright Onii-sama. These pieces of trash have defiled me, you, our mother, the Yotsuba, and Sayo. They deserve to get their punishment." Miyuki cut off Tatsuya as she stood up and walked towards her father and stepmother.

"Don't you dare say anything against the Yotsuba, Onii-sama, or Sayo again. Oh wait. I don't have to worry about that because you two are taking a trip to the Snow Queen's Realm. Sayonara."

And she unleashed Niflheim, freezing Tatsurou and Sayuri to their deaths.

Tatsuya led Sayo out of the house, letting Miyuki watch as her victims tried to cling to their lives.

Five minutes later, Miyuki came out of the house with a big smile on her face, as if nothing had happened. In fact, she seemed to be happier than she had ever been before.

"Come. Let us go. We still have school tomorrow," she said to Tatsuya and Sayo.

And she entered their car.

* * *

The next morning when they all woke up, everyone was in their uniform except for Tatsuya. He had to go for his ninjutsu lesson that morning with Kokonoe Yakumo.

Tatsuya and Miyuki decided to bring Sayo along, just to introduce her to Tatsuya's everyday life.

After Kokonoe-sensei greeted Sayo, he immediately took on sparring with Tatsuya. Sayo and Miyuki sat and watched.

"Is this how Tatsuya-kun fights in battle?"

"Yes, but Onii-sama also uses his Decompostition Magic. With physical objects, Onii-sama uses Mist Dispersion, which decomposes the physical structure of the information targeted. Onii-sama can also use Gram Demolition and Gram Dispersion, which target the activation sequence of any magic and decomposes them."

"Wow. Tatsuya-kun's magic is like mine, but much safer."

"I guess. The only thing that can block Onii-sama's magic is the Juumonji clan's Phalanx. But our Oba-sama's special magic, Meteor Line, can cut through the Phalanx, which is why the Yotsuba are the most powerful."

With that, Tatsuya's sparring ended, and they said good-bye to Kokonoe-sensei.

They met up at First High that day with the rest of their friends.

While they were walking together to their classrooms, what they didn't plan to see was Saegusa Mayumi, wearing a death look on her face.

Even though she was petite for a lady, she had long, flowing limbs. She was wearing a dress today, that did not go well with her burning red eyes. But she still looked beautiful.

Today, she was glaring at Yatshushiro Sayo. And Sayo was glaring right back.

"Yatsushiro Sayo," Mayumi coldly greeted.

"Saegusa Mayumi," Sayo greeted right back. "I'd like to ask what are you're doing here today."

"Isn't it obvious? My rival is going to my old high school and engaged with the boy I took a fan-" Then Mayumi realized her mistake.

"What did you just say?" Miyuki and Sayo simultaneously asked.

"Impossible. Onii-sama, is this true?"

"Saegusa-senpai did corner me in a library desk and asked me what I would do to her if there were no cameras."

"And what did you say?"

"If that is Saegusa-senpai's invitation to dine, I will gladly dig in."

"Onii-sama! And why did you never tell me about this?"

"Because I didn't want to worry you, Miyuki."

Miyuki tried her best to hold her anger in. Did Onii-sama not understand how she felt toward him? The temperature suddenly dropped. "Onii-sama, we're going to have a little talk about this later, okay?" Miyuki said in a sickly, sweet voice. It was the best she could do to hide her anger and disbelief.

Sayo was stunned. Is this what she saw yesterday? She couldn't quite get her mind over it. But the most she was worried about was how Tatsuya had flirted with Mayumi. Tatsuya and Mayumi? That was the grossest thing she had ever heard. Mayumi was older than him too! Did he really have feelings for Mayumi, though? Sayo found that hard to believe since Tatsuya rarely showed emotions to anyone.

Sayo regained her composure and said, "So, Mayumi. Do you not feel guilt, going after an underclassman like that? Your father would be disappointed you know. His eldest daughter going out with someone who's not even a Number! Much less from the Ten Master Clans."

"What do you have to say about yourself then? Your mother lets you run off with the same guy that you're bashing me with? Oh if she only knew."

"She does, actually." Tatsuya cut in. "I already asked for her mother's blessing. I'm marrying Sayo of my own free will."

Silence. No one could believe what Tatsuya was saying. Even he himself couldn't believe it. Him willingly marrying her? Maya was the one arranging it. Miyuki and Tatsuya had no prior knowledge ever to their aunt's plans. So was Tatsuya lying? Lying to himself? But Sayo stirred something in him. Something that he hadn't felt before, even with Miyuki. So was he lying?

Sayo hoped Tatsuya wasn't lying. Her mother told her about it. She knew it was natural for a magician like her from the Ten Master Clans to get married off early. But was it true that Tatsuya requested for her hand in marriage? But how did he know her? Sayo decided not to question any further. Just leave it be, she told herself. Don't push the luck away.

Mayumi was shocked out of her wits. Tatsuya? Do something like that? With that sister of his around? Was this a turning point? Focus, she told herself. Now that Tatsuya-kun is capable of love, maybe I can beat Sayo! Mayumi reassured herself.

Miyuki had the worst reaction out of them all. She was on the ground now, with her mouth wide open, just sitting there. She couldn't believe it. Onii-sama, betray her? Was that possible? She thought it was just Maya, manipulating her and Onii-sama. But for Onii-sama to state it aloud, Miyuki just didn't know what to do. How did Sayo meet Onii-sama? Or was this just fake? Miyuki decided that she should get up and consult this with Onii-sama later. It's not like she didn't approve of Sayo, it was because Onii-sama never told her of this.

"Onii-sama," Miyuki sweetly said, "I think we need to have a talk."


End file.
